BRENDAN JACKSON

Current Role: Project Manager in banking and finance
Practice: Change & Transformation

“FDM has enabled me to construct both a fruitful and rewarding foundation both from a personal and profession perspective at such a pivotal point in my career”

What are your current responsibilities working on client assignment?

My role involves stakeholder engagement and management, identifying and rectifying systematic redundancies, upholding governance frameworks, originating business case opportunity canvases, delivering projects end-to-end under agile methodology, and optimising business resources within project timelines, budget, and scope.

What projects have you worked on that you have found particularly interesting? 

My time on client assignment has been around the Merchant Modernisation program, particularly the Merchant Onboarding and Maintenance stream. What intrigued me most was the extensive stakeholder engagement required, collaborating with schemes, banking product offering bodies, internal teams, and external SaaS vendors. Each day presents new challenges and objectives to pursue.

Why did you decide to join FDM?

When transitioning from university to my career, FDM stood out as the sole organisation with comprehensive services and trusted partners and exhibiting clear success stories of alumni. The brand's image, along with extensive support in the employee acquisition process, instilled confidence in my career prospects.

What impact has FDM had on your career and personal development so far?

FDM has provided a solid foundation for both my personal and professional growth at a pivotal point in my career. The Skills Lab offered valuable upskilling opportunities, complemented by extensive support networks and well-being programs. These skills have empowered me to tackle challenges both at home and in the workplace, significantly shaping my development journey.

JOREL BASANGAN

Current Role: Technical Business Analyst in banking and finance
Practice: Change & Transformation

“The coaching FDM provided really condensed the learning to the most relevant and practical knowledge and skills required on the job.”

What are your current responsibilities working on client assignment?

As a Business Analyst, I get to work with both business and technical teams to understand how we can improve our key decisioning engine through integration and enhancement projects. Across two scrum teams, I facilitate scrum ceremonies, conduct workshops with stakeholders, analyse requirements, create user stories and acceptance criteria, update technical documentation, and assist in change releases into production.

What projects have you worked on that you have found particularly interesting? 

I'm currently involved in a project focused on implementing strategic changes to our key decisioning engine, aiming to enhance its capability and deliver more value to the bank and its customers. The project's emphasis on data is particularly intriguing, as data plays a crucial role in bringing the system's functionality to life. Witnessing how data and technology can automate business processes and provide new experiences to customers at scale is truly fascinating.

Why did you decide to join FDM?

I chose to join FDM to refine my skills in a specialised field of IT. My interest lies in working with both the business and technical aspects of IT, especially concerning data. FDM's Graduate Program seemed like the perfect fit for me to build on my existing skills and receive support during the transition into the industry. Additionally, the exposure to the finance industry and reputable client base offered by FDM was enticing, providing invaluable experience for someone starting out.

What impact has FDM had on your career and personal development so far?

FDM has played a vital role in kickstarting my career as a Business Analyst at a leading Australian company in the finance industry. The coaching provided condensed relevant knowledge and skills required for the job. Working with a team of professionals at FDM has been enriching, offering continuous learning opportunities. Furthermore, FDM's support in pursuing industry certifications relevant to my role has been invaluable for my personal and professional development.

KYLE WHYTE

Current Role: Software Developer (DotNet) in Health Insurance
Practice: Software Engineering

“Without FDM I am not sure I would have matched with such a great client, where the team has been super friendly and generous in their ability to provide opportunity to learn the business.”

What are your current responsibilities working on client assignment?

In my role within the insurance sector, I primarily focus on our team's API, which handles the combination of data used by the business and makes that accessible to external stakeholders. My tasks involve managing deployments, implementing new API functionality, overseeing sync jobs and data integration changes in SSIS, adjusting source locations of environment data, handling cosmos container triggering, communicating with team members, and providing debugging and support.

What projects have you worked on that you have found particularly interesting? 

Working on the API has been rewarding, especially witnessing the release of new features that I've contributed to. One recent project involved creating a check between our database information and previous records in cosmos to detect any drops in records. This initiative increases awareness among consuming teams about business changes.

Why did you decide to join FDM?

I chose to join FDM as I saw it as an opportunity to refine my skillset post-graduation. I believed that FDM's course structure aligned with client expectations for graduates, and the support provided would help me find a role suited to my abilities. I saw it as a chance to establish a solid foundation for my career in IT.

What impact has FDM had on your career and personal development so far?

Without FDM's assistance, I am uncertain if I would have landed such a beneficial role that contributes so significantly to my career and personal growth in IT. The supportive and friendly team has provided me with extensive learning opportunities which will continue to help me in my career future.

NATHAN LILLEY

Current Role: Data Engineer
Practice: Data & Analytics

“What I was most excited about was all the hands-on tasks, being able to use AWS and other technical skills in a practical application setting.”

What are your current responsibilities working on client assignment?

As an FDM Consultant in the data engineering team of a financial institution, my primary responsibility involves assisting in the construction of a data lake using AWS. This opportunity has been incredibly rewarding to be a part of.

What projects have you worked on that you have found particularly interesting? 

I found hands-on tasks particularly engaging, especially utilising AWS and other technical skills in practical applications. While challenging, the professional skills aspect of the course was highly beneficial, especially in improving my interview skills.

Why did you decide to join FDM?

I decided to join FDM to widen my skills and knowledge in an area that is highly interesting through their Graduate Program and being able to apply these skills at one of their many clients.

What impact has FDM had on your career and personal development so far?

Professionally I feel much more confident in being able to apply myself in the workplace, being a graduate, building a strong foundation for me to grow from.

SAMANTHA LOOI

Current Role: Business Analyst
Practice: Change & Transformation

“The process of joining FDM was very seamless. My application progressed with the same recruiter, who was very supportive throughout. They provided constructive feedback at each step so that I could improve as I went through each interview.”

What are your current responsibilities working on client assignment?

I'm currently working as a Business Analyst in Open Banking, focusing on facilitating data sharing between major banks and third parties as per government requirements. While it took time for me to understand how Open Banking worked and what I needed to do to assist the team, my whole team was very supportive the whole time and would always take the time to explain things to me. My responsibilities involve grasping Open Banking intricacies, aiding stakeholders, and ensuring effective communication across the board. I've learned that organisational and communication skills are paramount for a Business Analyst, with technical knowledge being an extremely important asset to complement.

Why did you decide to join FDM?

I joined FDM as I understood data analysis from a scholarly point of view but had little understanding of how this would be applicable in real business settings. I was also interested in FDM due to their client base of large banking and financial institutions, consultancies and other major companies, I felt that I could really accelerate my career with FDM.

What impact has FDM had on your career and personal development so far?

The journey with FDM was smooth, with continuous support from a dedicated recruiter who provided valuable feedback at each stage. Joining the change and transformation practice offered relief amidst the competitive job market. Relocating from Melbourne to Sydney for this opportunity has been a rewarding learning experience, which has helped me to grow both personally and professionally.

SHARON CHIEW

Current Role: Analyst Engineer at NAB
Practice: IT Operations

“The continual support and feedback provided by FDM throughout the year has also helped in my development and growth whilst on assignment.”

What are your current responsibilities working on client assignment?

Currently, I'm in a rotation between production support and development roles. In my production support capacity, I ensure the smooth operation of our application through daily monitoring, troubleshooting user concerns, and implementing change releases. Additionally, I handle ad hoc maintenance tasks such as environment patching and license upgrades. In the development role, I contribute to developing and testing new features for our cloud-based application during each iteration.

What projects have you worked on that you have found particularly interesting?  

As part of the Trade Surveillance team at one of Australia's largest banks, my team has focused on creating and maintaining an application used by internal users to detect illegal and unethical trading practices. This project has been particularly engaging due to its significance in maintaining ethical standards within the financial sector.

Why did you decide to join FDM?  

I chose to join FDM to advance my career in the tech industry despite lacking a strong background in technology. The program offered by FDM seemed like an ideal opportunity to enhance my skills and knowledge in the field.

What impact has FDM had on your career and personal development so far? 

FDM has jumpstarted my career in technology by providing initial coaching and introducing me to essential skills required for my daily tasks on client assignments. The continuous support and feedback from FDM throughout my journey have further facilitated my development and growth in the tech industry.

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